My second chest freezer died a couple of months ago. Since it was cold in my (uninsulated, no ac) garage it wasn’t a big deal, but now that it is warming up the beer that it houses is now sitting at unfriendly temperatures. I have bought used numbers twice, both times $100 for a ~12 footer, one lasted around 2 years the other 3. Both developed a frozen spot on the interior (probably where a freon line busted) then stopped cooling altogether. I am now debating whether to buy another craigslist freezer or buy new. I am also wondering how to extend the lives of these things. Is there a trick?
How do you control the freezer temperature?
It’s insane to buy a used freezer. It’s only going to last a few years and eat electricity. Buy a new one. What you save in one year for electricity will pay for the freezer.
You need an external temperature controller that over rides the the built in thermostat
I use an analog temp controller like this one:
You can also tweak the internal thermostat to bring the temperatures up to refrigeration temps and then use the temperature dial to adjust it from there. Do an internet search for good posts. (I’m not sure if this board minds if you link other forums)
This is actually a very tricky topic to get into… I’m in the HVAC business as well as I work on small appliance such as chest freezers. the biggest problem is that the compressor and system in general is meant to be run at below 32 degree f. It contains a what is called a low temp compressor which means that above that 32 degree ( or actually lower ) you are in essence making the unit work harder which you would think the exact opposite as you would think higher temps would equate to less work. the short answer to your question without getting into thermodynamics and the actual amount of cooling capacity of a compressor based on cubic footage is to #1 insulate to a ridiculous amount around the collar if you have a keezer #2 try to keep the ambient outside air as close to the temperature of the internal temperature without going below the compressor oil tolerance and #3 get the unit serviced like call someone in to check the refrigerant charge and to clean the evaporator coil etc… as the old saying goes proper prevention prevents poor performance. best of luck !!!
I wish someone made a 14 cf chest fridge.
“Friends don’t let friends drink bad beer”
I believe companies build professional equipment in that range but not for general use. Price is the issue that stops most folks from buying a True commercial fridge for their keg storage. Small used commercial units still cost hundreds, if not not 1000+, $$ for a smaller units.
Paul
Read your post and googled it. Ya, you’re right. Wish I was rich lol. I found a 23 cf chest refrigerator for $1800. But she would hold several cornys huh?
“Friends don’t let friends drink bad beer”
$350 will buy you a brand new 12.5-13 cu ft freezer at Sears or Lowes. Use as is and it will easily hold 6 cornies. They are very efficient, even in my 110F garage mine rarely comes on. Put a 4 or 6 inch collar on it and you can stack lots of sixers on top of the kegs.
Thanks. You cleared up many of my questions. I wonder if a new freezer would have died just like the older used ones, considering that I didn’t follow any of the three tips you offered to extend the life of the compressor.
I’ll look into, either a regular fridge, or into the $35 chest freezer from Sears 
The other big point I did not mention is external temperature override. Look into getting something like a A-419 by Johnson controls or a ETC-1000 by Ranco are really popular choices. with these controls you can preset a ASD option anti short cycle option as well as other Differentials that will help keep the compressor from turning on and off too often. This combined with the other advice I gave will extend the life of your chest freezer.
$350. 
Repeat short compressor cycles are suppose to hasten the demise of refrigerators/freezers. For digital temperature controllers I program in two degrees which gives a four degree variance. For my analog temperature controllers I always put my temperature probe in a PET soda bottle full of water to help prevent rapid cycles.
I just saw that too.
Getting back to the original question - I bought a cheap frigidaire chest freezer from Lowes in 2001. It’s been in continous use (with a Johnson analog contoller set at 40*) since then and it’s still going strong. I bought a really cheap refurbished one before that and it only lasted 3 mos. Buy cheap buy twice
I have had good luck buying used on Craigslist over the past decade, and $100 is about the max I’ve paid for some very nice units. Hard to say how someone has treated the units, but I have bought them looking almost new every time. They are recent units so the power usage is mostly irrelevant. Never had one fail.
I use the Ranco ETC111000 and have it set at a few degrees variance, and always attach the probe to the fermenter as that is what you want to control. The fact that you have the probe attached to the large volume of liquid removes the danger of short cycles as it takes a while for the temp to vary even for 5 gallon batches.
If you are using it for a kegerator keep the probe attached to a keg so your opening of the door doesn’t instantly cause a cycle.
I’m guessing if more folks took some basic steps these fridges and freezers would last a lot longer for them. My current one was bought about 4 years ago and still going strong.
Timely thread. I need to replace a freezer that worked for 3 yrs or so. Considering buying new simply because the used one didn’t last as long as I thought it should have. I never considered the short cycling - thanks for all the info on that. Checked out the ETC111000 on Amazon and has great reviews.
Question - has anyone ever sanitized the probe and dropped that in the fermentor versus attaching to the side of said carboy? I’ve read other threads out there about attaching to the carboy; putting the probe in a container next to the carboy, etc. But if it’s sanitized would that not work just as well (better?)?
Thanks,
DO NOT GET THE RANCO PROBE WET! Ask me how I know. I use a ranco dual stage with a thermowell that goes inside the fermenter. That also handles the short cycling problem. In my keezer, the probe is in a thermowell - in a 20oz plastic bottle filled with water.